More Regional Stops & Snapshots AND Even More Vegan Finds

Strange question right off the bat?  I'm a little OCD and can't stand it when I have a post that has zero comments LOL.  I posted later yesterday and earlier today and at the time of writing this yesterday's post didn't have any comments so if you can help me out by commenting on both of the posts I would appreciate it.  Does anyone else have this OCD issue when it comes to blogging?

Anyways...more photos from the last couple of months including this vegan find!  I believe I found this at Giant Eagle in Erie.  It was pretty good.  I see they are coming out with more breakfast options, however, I have found that I am eating them for dinner!

These lil gems I found at Wegmans and I have to say I'm a fan!  I see they have other products that are vegan, too, so if I see them again I will have to try them! 

I also spotted these at Wegmans.  I had been seeing other people post other flavors on IG and when I saw them FINALLY I just about jumped for joy!  I have yet to make them but one of these days I will get to it!

I've already downed this bottle of Goddess Dressing from Trader Joe's!

These I bought at Lakewood Apothecary.  They have some neat vegan snacks there.  I tried these and like them but find it to be an occasional snack and not one where I would eat an entire bag at one sitting.

I also found this Detox Toothpaste at Lakewood Apothecary!  Has anyone else located this yet by chance?  I have used it a few times and it's ok so far.

I consider myself to be somewhat techie but there are certain things I still like to have to physically write in and to have in front of me instead of using an app or device.  A daily planner is one of those things.  I have been on the search for one for what seems to be EVER and a few weeks ago I finally found one that I really like.  This was the quote that was on the front.

While in my travels for work I enjoyed the time I spent on one block of Jamestown where there were a few shops within that block.  This was one of the shops.  It's the Bio Dome Project and they had a co-op/vendor feel to it and carried some interesting items.  I loved their window store front and snapped this pic for my co-worker since she's our resident 'plant lady' and has gotten a few of us started with office plants!

Right next door was The Sprinkle Cone.  I really LOVED the look of this place!  Artsy!  They even have about 3 vegan options daily.

The space is opened via garage door but they converted the inside for this space.

It's seasonal but super cool decor where you can scribble on their chalk board walls!

While in Jamestown I also stopped over at Full Moon Rising Bakery.  They had a nice space, as well, and carry at least 1 vegan option daily.

This is the outside of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, NY.  Jamestown is the home of Roger Tory Peterson who was a naturalist, educator, artist, and environmental advocate before environmentalism was 'a thing'.  His specialty was birds.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute is right down the street from SUNY JCC - Jamestown Community College.  That's where I went to college and it's been a while since I have stopped over and spent time in that neighborhood.  Down the other side of the street is this park I used to spend time at while in college.  It's called College Park and before that it was called "Hundred Acre Lot".  The history behind it is that it was SAVED by fundraising efforts by area teachers and students and was one of the first School Parks in the nation.

Oh!  I almost forgot to post about this Vegetable Panang Curry I found at Trader Joe's!  I figured it was time for another food break in this post before moving on to more travel and regional photos and tidbits!

These two photos were taken at the foot of Bett's Park in Warren, PA.  I've featured other photos from this park before but I don't think I have posted about the water side of things.

It was a bit on the dry side when I took them.  Sometimes the water is higher.  These trees will be changing colors for fall soon.  I will try and get more fall photos this year and post them soon!

And one last photo for today.  This is another park.  This one is on the other side of Jamestown and is called McCrea Point Park.  It's a nice little park in the middle of old factory buildings and a bit of hustle and bustle.

Brain Break & Vegan MoFo 2015 PREP!

I took these photos/videos last week and had not gotten around to post them until now.

The purpose of these are that we all need a little 'brain break' every once and a while.

Sometimes I will eat my lunch in a nearby park or just sit there for a few moments to gather my thoughts.

Question of the Day: What do you do on your 'Brain Breaks"?  Comment below.

I figured this was a great time to post this because TOMORROW is the first day of Vegan MoFo!  YAY!  I can't wait!  Will you be participating in Vegan MoFo?  If so...let me know your URL if you haven't already!

Happy Weekend (on a Monday)!

Happy Weekend...on a Monday!  Yeah...so I did the following THREE short videos last week and uploaded them to YouTube but didn't blog about them yet...sorry about that!

In this first video you will get to see some LOCAL strawberries!  YAY!  A few quick ideas and tips to getting your friends, family members, and co-workers to eat more fruits and veggies!  I also give you a heads-up on a walk thru the park in this next video...

This 2nd video is about a pollinator garden at a local park nearby and taking a look at some of the flowers, herbs, etc.  Do you have a community park like this or something similar where you live?

And the 3rd and last video from last week was more-so about the weather and me blabbing a bit.  Also some deals I found on mangoes and avocados at my local Aldi Store!  I've already used a few of them and have some recipes coming very soon!  What are your favorite things to do with Mangoes and Avocados?

WNY VegFest 2014

I'm so excited!  I FINALLY went to a Veg Fest!  YESTERDAY!  YAY!  I wasn't sure until the last minute if I was going to go or not and my sister ended up going with me!  I cannot thank her enough!  I had some much fun!  We were only there for a few hours and we drove about 2 hours to get there and 2 hours back but we MADE it!  We had other obligations or we probably would have stayed longer!  Since I took so many pictures I decided to blog about it throughout this week.  In addition I have a VERY busy week ahead of me for work, too, so I will blogging about that later in the week, too!  The WNY VegFest took place at Delaware Park near Hoyt Lake off of Lincoln Parkway in Buffalo.  The venue was a good one!

The weather wasn't wonderful - we've had a lot of rain this summer - but it held off for the most part.  It could have been a LOT worse!  heck...it could have poured the whole time - but thankfully it didn't! 

My sister and I were REALLY early which worked out REALLY well because we found a kick-ass parking spot!  When we left there weren't ANY to be found for a dozen blocks or more!  I was reading they were hoping for between 2,000 and 2,500 people but I bet that's how many vehicles I saw at one point!!!  So I think it has a HUGE success!  One of the many surroundings at the VegFest Location was the Delaware Park Rose Garden.  I took a few photos of that.

I think I got my photo taken more in the last 24 hours than I have in the past year!  I'm usually the one behind the camera not the one in front of it so it was a strange experience.  You know I will post the pics, here, tho...the good, the bad, even the ugly! haha.

Here's one of me near the fountain in the rose garden.  Even tho it was gloomy...the temperature was 'just right' it seemed.  Not too hot and not too cold.

This is the building that was in the middle of it all.  A very cool place!  It's Marcy Casino at Delaware Park.  Over the next several days you will be seeing a lot of photos of this building.  It's one of their historic places.  This is the front of it.  The back is something special, too!  Right along the water. 

There were vendors all around the building...in the nooks and crannies, inside and outside, along the water...everywhere!

This is behind the rose garden.  Bands played here.  We didn't stay to see them play but the first one was setting up while we were there.  They also had a 5K Tofurky Trot Race taking place all around the grounds.  Since I'm not a runner I didn't participate but they did have a LOT of runners.  There were some real characters, too! LOL - I know at least 2 hockey players participated...Andrew Peters...former Buffalo Sabre and George Laraque.  George was also a speaker.  He was on the Penguins, Canadiens, and other teams, too!

 This is one of the sides of the building.  You can see some of the vendors wrapped around on the middle level.  The set up was really neat!  We made our rounds thru the vendors about 6 times.  Because we were so early the vendors kept setting up as we were walking around and around.  You can't really see much of the stone work on the building until you get around back but it was pretty cool.  Almost castle meets late 1800's type look and feel.

When you go around back and look to the left you see this...a stairway up to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery which I want to go back and visit some day in the near future!  If you look straight out - or in this case - turn to your right - you will see the water as well as more of the park and the bridge.  There is a lot to see and do and neat places to walk.  It's been YEARS since I had been in this section of Buffalo, to be honest.


This is a shot of the water, bridge, and walkway.  This was taken before most of the vendor started setting up near the water!  It filled up pretty fast. 

Eventho it was pretty gloomy - I LOVE that the GREEN really POPPED!  I don't think I got a photo of it - but there were some random canoes in the middle of this waterway, too.

There were a lot of little historical markers like this one to tell you more about your surroundings.  This one told you about Hoyt Lake.

Delaware Park was designed as part of a coordinated system of parks, parkways, and traffic circles in the city by Frederick Law Olmsted. Constructed in 1871 and covering 350 acres, Delaware Park is the centerpiece of the Buffalo, New York parks system.

It is currently on the National Register of Historic Places and is maintained by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Outside the front doors of the Parkside Lodge was one of Delaware Park's most magnificent features, a Quarry Garden. The city of Buffalo quarried large amounts of stone from this location in Delaware Park for most of the structures in the parks as well as others around the city. In laying out Delaware Park Olmsted transformed this working quarry into a beautiful quarry garden landscape complete with reflective pools, stone arch bridges and a number of trees and shrubs to accent the natural stone walls. Unfortunately, when the Scajaquada Expressway was built, some of the landfill was dumped here and the garden was lost. The Conservancy is committed to uncovering this secret garden.  There is a great deal of info on these parks HERE.  The more I read the more I really want to revisit them.

On our way out we saw this 'young' Abe Lincoln Statue and thought it was pretty neat.  I did take a few photos of more of the surroundings 'out back' behind the Rose Garden Stage.  They have Shakespeare in the Park many nights throughout the summer but for some reason blogger won't let me insert them into this post.

So before I 'blow up' my blog I think I will stop there but I will be trying to catch up on more photo heavy posts because there will be a lot this week!  I still have to blog about the FOOD at VegFest and my other personal FAVORITE...meeting the Vegan Zombie Crew!  So be sure to check back soon!!!!!